Thermal SPA Hotel Roman Bath in the village of Banya reports a steady average annual occupancy rate of between 75% and 80%, the management of the complex said. The hotel operates year-round, with the only planned interruption scheduled for May, when routine maintenance, servicing, and facility upgr»»»

London, United Kingdom: Microsoft is facing a £1.7-billion ($2.3 billion) class action lawsuit in Britain alleging that it abused its dominant market position to overcharge businesses, claimants said Thursday. The case was brought by digital markets regulation expert Maria Luisa Stasi on behalf of »»»

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has urged the Trump administration to pressure Israel to scale back its demands and end its military invasion of the country. In an interview with the Washington Post, Salam said Lebanon could not sign any agreement that does not include a “full withdrawal” of Israeli for»»»

BRUSSELS: The European Union on Thursday approved a massive loan package to help Ukraine meet its economic and military needs for the next two years, the bloc’s Cypriot presidency said, after Hungary lifted its veto. The EU also approved a new raft of sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukrain»»»

Colombo, Sri Lanka: Cyber criminals hacked into the Sri Lankan finance ministry's computer system and siphoned off $2.5 million, the government said Thursday, the most amount of cash ever stolen by hackers from a state institution. The cyber attack is a major blow to Sri Lanka, which is recovering »»»

Damascus, April 23 (SANA) After one year in power, Syria’s government is focusing on reintegrating the country into the global political and economic system, seeking to end decades of sanctions and isolation. While officials say the most difficult phase has passed, the country still faces deep stru»»»

S&P Global Ratings warned on Thursday that the risks to African sovereign credit scores were likely to worsen the longer the Middle East war drags on. The ratings agency said that higher fuel and fertilizer import costs would increase inflation and fiscal strains for countries, "potentially leading»»»

Gold prices fell on Thursday, pressured by a stronger dollar and elevated oil prices that stoked inflation worries, as investors tried to assess the conflict direction from stalled US-Iran talks. Spot gold was down 0.9% at $4,696.71 per ounce, as of 1135 GMT. US gold futures for June delivery fell »»»

Dubai: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank reported a record first-quarter profit, supported by strong lending growth, higher fee income and improved efficiency, as it navigated an evolving operating environment. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here.Profit befor»»»

Doha, Qatar: Unsettled weather conditions featuring rain, thunder, and strong winds are expected to affect Qatar this weekend, stated the Qatar Meteorology Department. In its latest update on social media, the department stated that, today, Thursday, April 23, 2026, will see thundery rain accompani»»»

Tunis, April 23 (TAP) — The Press Council, Tuesday, reaffirmed its status as an independent self-regulatory body, stressing its role in protecting press freedom and ensuring reliable, high-quality information amid challenges to its legitimacy.In a...»»»

BARCELONA: A feature of Jordan’s rise to footballing prominence over the past two years has been their fearsome attacking triumvirate. Stade Rennais’ Musa Al-Taamari might win all the plaudits but his partners in crime, Ali Olwan and Yazan Al-Naimat, scored the goals that delivered World Cup qualif»»»

As the United States edges closer to a critical May 1 deadline in its war with Iran, a decades-old law is quietly becoming one of the most consequential forces shaping the next phase of the conflict. Nearly eight weeks after Washington joined Israeli strikes against Iran, President Donald Trump fac»»»

LONDON: Britain’s King Charles heads to the United States next week for the most high-profile trip of his reign so far, on a mission to shore up the future ​of the two allies’ “special relationship” which the Iran war has plunged to its lowest point in 70 years. The state visit marks the 250th anni»»»

Berlin: German authorities said Thursday they had arrested a Ukrainian man and Latvian man on suspicion of planning acts of sabotage for a foreign organisation after "suspicious" items were found in their car. The men, aged 43 and 45, were found with fake identity documents, cameras, a drone, GPS t»»»

The results of the April 19 parliamentary elections and the resignation of acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov dominate Thursday’s news media. POLITICS & ELECTION RESULTS Dnevnik.bg has an article about the news members of Parliament who were elected on April 19. The 52nd National Assembly w»»»

Dubai A shocking investigation by the BBC has uncovered how illegal drugs — including cocaine, cannabis, laughing gas and prescription pills — are being openly sold in mini-marts across UK High Streets, exposing what officials describe as a growing “cancer” of organised crime. Undercover reporters »»»

Serbian General Ratko Mladić is in the most severe condition he has ever been in, according to assessments by Serbian doctors who examined him in the detention unit of the Hague tribunal, his son Darko Mladić said in a statement to SRNA, stressing that the authorities in the Hague have effectively »»»

Recently, headlines have increasingly focused on the decline of gold, with some even suggesting a ‘collapse’ of 20% to 25%. However, when looking at the full picture, the situation is different. Gold underwent a correction after hitting an all-time high at the beginning of 2026, but has since recov»»»

Dubai: Discussions over a potential currency swap line between the UAE and the US have drawn scrutiny this week, with analysts and officials stressing the move reflects precautionary planning rather than any sign of financial strain in the economy. Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf»»»

When uncertainty hits, leadership stops being a title and starts showing its true shape. At the the Tristar presents Limitless: The UAE Power Women’s Forum in association with Gulf News, held at Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, The Palm, five women leaders cut through the noise on what it really takes to »»»

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) Chairman, Masoud Suleiman, revealed yesterday that he had met with representatives of Nigerian company Aiteo, one of the companies that won the public bidding round for exploration, securing Block M1 in the Murzuq Basin. During the meeting, they discussed the »»»

BEIRUT: Lebanon and Israel were set to begin a second session of direct talks in Washington on Thursday to discuss the possibility of extending a truce between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and plans for future negotiations between the two neighbors with a long history of hostile relation»»»

Turkish lawmakers passed a bill late Wednesday that includes restricting access to social media platforms for children under 15, state media reported. The legislation is the latest in a global trend to protect young people from dangerous online activity. Its passage comes a week after a 14-year-old»»»

Residents gathered in front of the Pleven Court demanding justice in the case of 12-year-old Siyana, who died in a high-profile car accident on March 31, 2025. The protest began half an hour before the starting time of the court session, when it also became known that experts who did a forensic tec»»»

Libya’s Minister of Oil and Gas, Khalifa Abdel Sadig, received today at the Ministry’s Tripoli headquarters a high-level delegation from the French company Beicip-Franlab, which specializes in technical consulting and technological solutions for the energy sector. The French delegation included Thi»»»

WASHINGTON: A Pentagon assessment said it could take six months to completely clear the Strait of Hormuz of Iranian-laid mines, which could keep oil prices high, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Iran has all but blocked the vital waterway since the start of a war with the United States an»»»

WASHINGTON: The United States slammed China’s “intimidation campaign” on Wednesday after several African countries were reportedly pressured by Beijing to derail an official trip by Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te by revoking overflight permits. Taiwan announced Tuesday that Lai was postponing his »»»

The European Union voted on April 22 to simultaneously unlock its long-delayed €90bn EU loan for Ukraine and adopt the stalled twentieth sanctions package against Russia, in a diplomatic double act that had been blocked for months by Hungary and Slovakia — both of which finally »»»

The European Union voted on April 22 to simultaneously unlock its long-delayed €90bn EU loan for Ukraine and adopt the stalled twentieth sanctions package against Russia, in a diplomatic double act that had been blocked for months by Hungary and Slovakia — both of which finally »»»

South Korea’s economy grew at its fastest pace in nearly six years in the first quarter, central bank data showed Thursday, driven by strong chip exports. In this April 1 photo, containers are stacked at a port in Pyeongtaek. Photo by Yonhap SEOUL, April 23 (UPI) -- South Korea's economy grew at it»»»

Washington, United States: The United States slammed China's "intimidation campaign" on Wednesday after several African countries were reportedly pressured by Beijing to derail an official trip by Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te by revoking overflight permits. Taiwan announced Tuesday that Lai was »»»

Pyeongtaek, South Korea: Tens of thousands of Samsung Electronics workers rallied in South Korea on Thursday to demand higher pay and bonuses, as their threat of a weeks-long strike hung over the technology giant. Samsung is a major producer of chips used in everything from artificial intelligence »»»

A Pentagon assessment said it could take six months to completely clear the Strait of Hormuz of Iranian-laid mines, which could keep oil prices high, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Iran has all but blocked the vital waterway since the start of a war with the United States and Israel, sh»»»

President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to meet with EU leaders Thursday in Cyprus as the bloc prepares to approve a €90 billion loan for Ukraine, ending a prolonged deadlock. Hungary premier Viktor Orban had vetoed the funds until Kyiv repaired a pipeline hit by a Russian strike – work»»»

Doha: Landmark Group Qatar maintained business continuity and operational stability during the recent seasonal trading period, supported by agile execution, disciplined planning and coordinated omnichannel operations. While the early part of the season was shaped by broader regional disruption, the»»»

New York, April 23 (SANA) Syria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ibrahim Olabi, said Wednesday during a UN Security Council session that Syria is advancing efforts to restore stability and development while urging an end to the repeated Israeli violations. Speaking at a special ses»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Katara International Ramadan Open Classical Chess Championship, organised by the Qatar Chess Federation, concluded with the participation of 86 players across various age groups, reaffirming its status as one of the country’s leading chess tournaments. President of the Qatar Chess »»»

The Vega Ploiesti refinery, operated by Rompetrol Rafinare, started producing a new higher value-added solvent, hexane with a minimum purity of 60%, which supports polypropylene production and the food industry, being supplied to all edible oil factories in Romania.According to a company press rele»»»

DOHA: The Qatar Department of Meteorology has forecast relatively hot weather accompanied by blowing dust and unstable conditions across the country until 6pm on Thursday. In its daily report, the department said inshore areas will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with a chance of scattered»»»

China's role as an unofficial mediator in the latest war in the Middle East is drawing attention across the world as it seeks to project the image of being a responsible global power while U.S. actions are straining its long-standing alliances. China's profile in international diplomacy has risen i»»»

Dubai: Getting a taxi in Dubai could become easier from this summer after Dubai Taxi Company announced plans to add 600 new vehicles to its fleet, following the latest licence auction by Dubai Roads and Transport Authority. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The expansion»»»

New York, April 23 (SANA) The U.N. Security Council held a special session on Syria’s 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, with members emphasizing the need to scale up international support, ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance and respect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integr»»»

The “Yas Park Place” project has recorded a notable milestone in Abu Dhabi’s real estate market, as Aldar Properties announced today that 80% of the units released within the new residential development—featuring mid-rise buildings in the heart of Yas Island—have been sold, generating more than Dh8»»»

Benghazi Chamber of Commerce received last Monday (20 April) a high-level Japanese delegation, headed by Ambassador Shimura Izuru, to discuss ways to enhance economic cooperation and expand partnership prospects between the two sides, as well as opportunities for Japanese companies to enter the Lib»»»

Doha, Qatar: Al Rayyan coach Vicente Moreno expects a tough challenge from Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab in the Gulf Club Champions League (GCCL) final today as his side targets a second trophy in as many weeks. The Lions, who lifted the QSL Cup last week, have produced an impressive campaign in the com»»»

SINGAPORE: Oil prices extended their gains on Thursday, rising more than $1 ‌in the wake of stalled peace talks between Iran and the US and as both nations maintained restrictions on the flow of trade through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures rose $1.26, or 1.2 percent, to $103.17 a barrel »»»

ABU DHABI: The UAE Jiu-Jitsu National Team, sponsored by Mubadala Investment Co., is preparing to compete from April 24 to 26 at the 2026 Paris Open Grand Prix, one of the world’s leading international competitions. Official weigh-ins are scheduled for April 24, followed by preliminary and semifina»»»

Doha, Qatar: United Development Company (UDC), the master developer of The Pearl and Gewan Islands, has successfully concluded the fourth edition of The Pearl Island Ramadan Football Tournament 2026, following a competitive and engaging journey that resumed after an unexpected pause lasting several»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Qatari Hotels Association (QHA) received H E Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, Chairman of Qatar Tourism, along with Omar Abdulrahman Al Jaber, Chief of Tourism Development Sector; Eng. Abdulaziz Ali Al Mawlawi, Chief Executive Officer of Visit Qatar; and Abdullah Mohammed Al Falasi, Directo»»»